The House of Hohenzollern is a formerly royal German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle. The first ancestors of the Hohenzollerns were mentioned in 1061.
Hohenzollern Castle, near Hechingen, was built in the mid-19th century by Frederick William IV of Prussia on the remains of the castle founded in the early 11th century.
Alpirsbach Abbey, founded by the Hohenzollerns in 1095
Nuremberg Castle (the Emperor's castle, left, and the Burgrave's castle, right)
Cadolzburg Castle near Nuremberg (from 1260 seat of the Burgraves)
The prince-electors, pl. Kurfürsten, Czech: Kurfiřt, Latin: Princeps Elector) were the members of the electoral college that elected the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
The imperial prince-electors Left to right: Archbishop of Cologne, Archbishop of Mainz, Archbishop of Trier, Count Palatine, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Brandenburg and King of Bohemia (Codex Balduini Trevirorum, c. 1340)
Choosing the king. Above: the three ecclesiastical princes choosing the king, pointing at him. Middle: the Count Palatine of the Rhine hands over a golden bowl, acting as a servant. Behind him, the Duke of Saxony with his marshal's staff and the Margrave of Brandenburg bringing a bowl of warm water, as a valet. Below, the new king in front of the great men of the empire (Heidelberg Sachsenspiegel, around 1300).
Coats of arms representing the seven original electors with the figure of Germania. Original colours were vivid. Germania's gown was gold, not beige, and the blue-grey was purple. Also, the browns were painted as vivid red and the muted grey in Saxony's arms was a brilliant green.
Coats of arms of prince electors surround the Holy Roman Emperor's; from flags book of Jacob Köbel (163#+1545). Left to right: Cologne, Bohemia, Brandenburg, Saxony, the Palatinate, Trier, Mainz
